Monday, April 21, 2014

Today's Special - - Rebecca Hagan Lee

It's my pleasure to welcome Rebecca Hagan Lee to TRD today. An award-winning author, Rebecca has received the Maggie Award from Georgia Romance Writers, various Romantic Times awards and has been a Romance Writers of America RITA® finalist. Her books have been published in nine languages and are currently being re-issued in English by Amber House Books. You can find more information about Rebecca at her website and connect with her online at Facebook. Please give Rebecca a warm welcome!

Thank
you, PJ and Andrea for inviting me to talk about A HINT OF HEATHER, my latest
release from Amber House Books.

Set
in the highlands of Scotland in 1716, A HINT OF HEATHER is the story of one
clan’s desperate struggle to survive the harsh British occupation following the
first Jacobite rebellion. Or to use my publisher, Teresa Medeiros’s, tagline: “If
a spirited Highland lass kidnaps an English earl, does she get to keep him?”

It’s
the story of Lady Jessalyn MacInnes of Clan MacInnes and Neil Claremont, a
major in His Majesty’s Royal Corps of Engineers. Jessalyn and Neil find
themselves in an unlikely alliance when she becomes the new Laird of the Clan
and her well-meaning clansmen decide to abduct a bridegroom for her—and not
just any bridegroom, but an English earl and the grandson of “the King-maker”,
the powerful Marquess of Chisenden.

Neil
is Jessalyn’s wedding gift from the “Ancient Gentlemen of the Clan.”

When
I think back on the writing of A HINT OF HEATHER, I realize that the idea of
the story was a gift to me. I was sitting in a workshop on writing a bestseller
at a Romance Writers of America conference when a scene popped into my head.
Like watching a Technicolor movie, I saw a British major hanging upside down
and tied across the back of a Highland pony being led by a group of Scottish
Highlanders. Neil Claremont’s story had begun…

During
a recent move, I came across the description I jotted down of that scene amid
the notes of that RWA workshop while packing up my office. Like BRIGADOON and
HIGHLANDER or BRAVEHEART and ROB ROY, or the Scottish Highlands, A HINT OF
HEATHER was the story I had to tell in order to share my love of Scotland and
all things Scottish. It was as magical and
rare as the beautiful purple and white heather on the Scottish hillsides.

Unfortunately,
the original publication of A HINT OF HEATHER never found its readership. But
my friend, Teresa Medeiros, CEO of Amber House Books,
thought A HINT OF HEATHER and I deserved a second chance.

You
see, once upon I time, I dreamed that writing romance novels readers wanted to
read was enough. But after writing and publishing fourteen full-length romance
novels and two novellas for Berkley Jove and winning several awards, my career
had come to a standstill. I spent the next six years writing and re-writing and
submitting proposals and a full-length women’s fiction contemporary to my agent
without success. I was told no one wanted to read what I wrote. No one wanted
to read Americana westerns or Regencies or late Victorian settings or Scottish
books.

I
thought my dream was over. Then three things happened to give me hope.

Debra
Dixon invited me to write Regency novella for a Christmas anthology. I sold a book
to Berkley Sensation. And Teresa Medeiros approached me with her desire to
start a boutique publishing house for the purpose of “Entertaining readers. Empowering Writers.”

Since
July 2013, my dream and my career have been reborn. Teresa Medeiros and Amber
House Books have enabled me to entertain my original readers and to gain new
readership. She’s re-branded and published my Americana westerns, GOLDEN
CHANCES, HARVEST MOON, SOMETHING BORROWED, and TWICE BLESSED as “The Borrowed
Brides Series” and added A HINT OF HEATHER to the list.

I’ve
not only been empowered, I’ve been inspired…

The films I mentioned inspired my
love for Scotland. What Scottish films or settings inspire YOU?

Rebecca would love to give one
Lucky Commenter today a $25 Amazon gift!

The film that inspired my love of Scotland was BRAVEHEART. Sue-Ellen Welfonder loves Scotland and she posts a lot of blogs about Scotland, so I feel as though I have been there seeing all the sights she talks about.

I first read the book KIDNAPPED by Robert Louis Stevenson as a child. I think I have seen every screen adaptation & loved them all. I can see the Highlands & hear the bagpipes as I type. BRAVEHEART & ROB ROY are great favorites too.

I don't watch a lot of movies, but the James Bond movie, Skyfall, does come to mind. I read somewhere that CNN named the movie as the main reason Scotland was named 2013's Top Travel Destination (even though other parts of the movie were filmed elsewhere). Can't you just see the panoramic landscapes now, as envisioned by "James Bond"? Beautiful. Just beautiful.

BRAVEHEART is one of my favorites as well. I have a framed movie poster of it hanging in my office. When I was a little girl, I was enthralled by the Disney versions of KIDNAPPED and ROB ROY, but I think my first introduction to Scotland might have been THE THREE LIVES OF THOMASINA starring Patrick McGoohan, (Edward the Longshanks in BRAVEHEART) Susan Hampshire and Karen Doltrice.

I was enthralled by THE THREE LIVES OF THOMASINA. I was twelve when it was released. That may have been my first real exposure to Scotland but it could have been BRIGADOON also. Can't remember which I saw first but I loved both.

BRIGADOON was the first live theater performance I ever saw and I never miss an opportunity to see it even now. I didn't see the movie until much later, but it was a great introduction to the the magic of Scotland.

I am STILL blushing at the lovely things Rebecca said about me. I'M the one who's had the privilege of bringing her wonderful books to a fresh audience. She's an absolute delight to work with and I'm beyond excited that a brand new "Borrowed Brides" book is coming soon :)

Welcome, Rebecca! We're delighted to have you join us today. I'm so glad Teresa approached you about reissuing your books. I missed them the first time around and plan to correct that error now. I also happen to be a reader who loves Americana Westerns!

I've always been fascinated by Scotland, though I've never visited. The playing of the pipes has always brought me to tears and photos of her lochs and hills creates a yearning in my soul and has since I was a child. I recently discovered that I'm descended from a Highlands clan. It all makes sense now.

Scotland and Ireland have always been my passion. It where my father, who is Irish and my maternal grandfather came from. I have been lucky to visit both places many times..And reading about places I have been delights me even more.

Rebecca, congratulations on your renewed success!! How exciting! I love your last statement about you being inspired.

I heard about your book through Teresa on her Facebook page and my friend Sheila, who loves anything Scottish. I have always liked Scottish settings in historical romances: a brawny, handsome man in a kilt wooing a young English miss or a Scottish lass. Big Sigh.

My husband loves the movie "Braveheart", so we watch it whenever it comes on television. I, too, have always thought Scotland would be a neat place to visit. I met a mother and daughter from Scotland who came to visit a cousin of mine. She had met them on her trip to Scotland and they became good friends. Being only 14 at the time, I didn't understand that McDonalds and Campbells were like the American Hatfields and McCoys, but I played a Scottish song for them on the piano....yep, "The Campbells Are Coming." They just smiled and the mother said, insert Scottish accent, "Now, isn't that lovely?" Hahaha. ;)

I don't think any one thing has inspired my fascination with Scotland, but a number of small things. Hearing bag pipes the first time, my great grandfather was part Scottish, so he told lots of stories. The bravery of the men, the fierceness of the women, the heather...all of it conspired to win me over.

Laney, the Scottish landscapes in SKYFALL were gorgeous. I fell in love with the old manor house on the moor with its secret priest hole and tunnel and the elegant arched windows. I didn't see the CNN piece, but I can believe the movie would certainly boost Scottish tourism. 2014 is the year to come home to Scotland. I'm hoping to do so later in the summer.

I loved the Thomasina movie, but I think my love of Scotland came from my junior high pen pal, a Scottish boy from Glasgow. We wrote to each other for several years. I still have the calendar he sent me with photos of Scotland.

Movies haven't inspired my fascination with Scotland. Books have! I have read SO many Highlander historical romances! I will actually be visiting Scotland and Ireland in a couple of weeks, and I can't wait!

Braveheart is what got me started on my love for Sxotland. Then came Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series (which is now going to be a series on Starz - SQUEE!) And one day I hope to visit this gorgeous country.

I'm a little biased about all things Scottish. My family is of Scottish ancestry so we were all introduced to plaids, tartans and bagpipes at an early age. Every summer when I was a kid we attended a family reunion. My fondest memory was of a young boy of 4 or 5 in a kilt. Of course someone had to ask him what a Scotsman wore under his kilt. In reply the young kilt wearer prompted flipped up his kilt revealing.......shorts. :-) So apparently young Scotsmen in the 20th century wear shorts under their kilts. Congrats, Rebecca and I wish you great success in your new series.

I've got Scottish roots, whit a bunch of cousins who live in Scotland and come over for the occasional family reunion. I don't love the colors in my clan tartan, but it's cool anyway because it's MY CLAN tartan. So that's what inspires me!

Both Braveheart and Brigadoon are favorites of mine...but its hard to compare the 2! They seem like different worlds!

Hey, as long as we're talking Scotland today, can anyone identify a book for me?? I read it when I was a teenager back in the late 60's, early 70's. It was a bit of a time travel book (I think), but the scene I clearly remember is where they used a landscape with moss and rocks to create a map of where various troops were at. So the scouts could check in and make changes so others could casually walk by, and if they knew what was up, they could see what was happening. I read it several times, but now I just can't remember the title! I would enjoy reading it again.Thanks, Jan

my fiance promised me a trip to Scotland and Ireland for our honeymoon. I've read the Highlander series books from Melissa mayhue and I'm excited to see that this book is also capturing my interest will look forward to reading it soon.

I have a bit of scottish in me, I think I have always been interested in it. I have vague memories of scottish ghosts on tv in the 70's when i was a kid and loved them! Bewitched and scooby doo always had red haired scottishmen ghosts in kilts. LOL who knew they could also be sexy?

Hi Rebecca, you are a new author to me but will check out your book. Love Scottish romances. I have always wanted to go to Scotland but only get there in books. I will be watching for Outlander to come out in a movie, sound awesome. Thanks for the great giveaway and sharing your books with us.

Congrats to Rebecca on her new release!!! Thanks for such an interesting post :) The only "scottish" film that I can recall seeing is Braveheart. Before Mel went crazy and I started boycotting his movies.

Odd your agent and publisher said no one wanted to read what you wrote. Highland set stories, Westerns, and suspense are my favorites and always have been. I really have no favorite Highland set movies. My love of the area stems from books. The first romances I read were set during medieval times, many in the Highlands. Since then I have read many set in the Highlands from medieval through Regency to modern times with some paranormal ones thrown in. There is something about the harsh but beautiful land and the strong, loyal, resilient people who live there that resonates with me.

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